Fear NOT little flock!

So...this week 

There was good and bad... of course. 

Our amazing investigator S.M. agreed to the baptismal date of Oct 10. This guy is such trooper, even though he had a fever and his face was bright red, he STILL came to the YSA fireside with Elder Kelbengat from the Seventy. Half of the things that were mentioned were way over his head, things like, the second coming, deep spiritual gifts and learning Russian. But it didn't even faze him, if only all of our investigators would be like S.M. the whole city of Helsinki would pretty much turn into the city of Enoch.

 

Speaking of Russian though, man I have never used so many random phrases in different languages to preach the gospel in my whole life. Just this past week I've had to use all the Russian, Italian, Swedish, Cantonese and Mandarin that I know (which really isn't all that much) to make contact with these people. I wasn't super good at learning Russian, but I really hope that I'll catch on to Swedish while I'm here. The vocabulary seems pretty similar to English, so there's a good chance i'l catch on to some by the time I leave the mission field. 

Bläbår=Blueberry 

Tåg=train 

Jordgubb=Strawberry 

I'll get there someday!!!!

This week during personal study, I've been focusing on how I can fully fulfill my purpose here in the field, I came across this scripture in D&C 6:34-37 it reminds me of the care that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us and for the sacrifices that have been made for us to be on this earth today. 

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock,they cannot prevail.

 35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

 36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

 37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful,keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. Amen.

Doubt not. Fear not. Do good. Be faithful. Keep my commandments. 

That's all He asks of us. I know that it's by doing the simple things that great testimonies and great acts come to pass before us. I hope you all have a good week! 

Sisar Kwok

 

Sister Hayter and I in the Metro

Lutheran church. again. 

​

his name is SKY MAN

Hello all! 

This first week in the Helsinki has been CRAZY. So many more things happen in the city, its fabulous. Things I have witnessed this week: a man with dreadlocks dressed as superman walking on a tightrope in the city center. He even has a picture of himself on the tightrope printed onto his shirt, shirt-ception. 

a gypsy fighting with another gypsy, all in sign language. So intense. 

And of course, the classic man that flips us off every time he sees us. I love it here. 

I would go into a lot more detail but we rented tablets from the library and it is being very glitchy. So far there are only two other companionships in our district, the elders in pasila and the other neitsytpolku elders, its kind of a shock, I haven't seen so many missionaries in such a close range for half a year. 

So a highlight from this week, 

The elders in marjaniemi gave us a referral last week and we started meeting with him three days ago. His friend was baptized in may and he wanted to know why he was so happy. So of course we were excited to meet him, except, no one knew how to say his name. He is from T____ and his name is very hard to pronounce. After a little bit, they just asked us to call him Sky man, which is his nickname. So now, I am officially teaching a man named Sky Man. 

Aside from the intensity of his name though, he is such a solid investigator. We have had some really incredible lessons with him and he is progressing like crazy, we hope he can be baptized by the end of the month before general conference. When we tried to set the date with him, he wasn't so sure, but at the rate he is accepting the gospel it is very possible! Pray for us! 

My tablet only has about 20℅ battery left, so I'll have to leave it that, I hope to send you all some pictures next week! This city is BEAUTIFUL!!! 

Terveisia suomesta! 

Sisar kwok

Away we go....

Hey Everyone!

The reason I'm writing early this week is because of transfers, we got our calls this past Friday and guess where I'm heading now...

drumroll...

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...

...

...

HELSINKI! 

That's right! Not only Helsinki, but the Neitsytpolku ward, which is in the very heart of the capital! I'll be finishing the training of another sister who just came into the country last transfer named Sister Hayter! 

I am so excited to be serving in the city, most of the time if people ever mentioned Helsinki, I would think in my head, "Oh, you mean that one really noisy, crowded place that we have go through in order to get to President's house, that place?" But now I actually get to SEE it!!

That being said, it's strange packing up my stuff and trying to fit my life into two suitcases again. Right after we got the call, I remember looking around the apartment, trying to mentally figure out which things I needed to pack first and I realized that I LIVED here. Our tiny little apartment that had recently become infested with fruit flies (I don't know what happened) had become my real home. 

I have gotten so used to the farm fields and forests that surround this place (yesterday we saw a couple driving on the road with a tractor that was bigger than a house) I have loved being able to ride our bikes down by the lake Saimaa and to smell the freshness of the pine trees and open air.

Also, I had to say goodbye to my recent convert family, man! Goodbyes are SO HARD! I am so thankful for modern day technology and for the ability to skype and email them when I come home! This little town has changed me for the better, I remember coming into the area, we only had a handful of investigators and I didn't speak the language as well as I needed to. It took a lot of faith and humbling, a lot of patience and perseverance but slowly the Lord was able to change me into the missionary that I needed to be, I've witnessed the miracles that He brings to pass and I hope that He never stops trying to help me become a better person.

It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but...onward and upward! 

Like the words of my favorite song say:

"Eespäin, aina eespäin näin me käymme nimesään, käykää, eespäin käykää, voitto laulu kajahtaa. Tahdomme näin Herraa, Kuningasta palvela!" 

(Herrasta ja Kuninkaasta, Called to Serve.)

Kunnes me kuuntellimme toinen toiseltä taas, nähdään! 

Sisar Kwok 

The District :)

So a funny thing about being in the same area for half a year is that you get to see it in every single season, I remember arriving into Lappeenranta at the tail end of winter, when everything was just slush and misery, saw it transform as flowers started to bloom and the weather started to warm up, I've experienced the summer humidity and blinding rays of the midnight sun and now, the leaves are starting to fall and the clouds are gathering back up. 

Being able to see these things and to watch change happen is a testimony that this world was created by a loving Heavenly Father, and that his perfect plan requires the agency of man. 

This past week was good and hard, for several different reasons. it was hard in the fact that so many of our plans fell through but it was good in the way that I have truly seen the love of God in my life. Every single week is different, some are disappointing while others are exciting, but the constant presence of the Holy Ghost reminds me that no matter what happens, as long as I am I working my hardest, the work will be done and that I am fulfilling my missionary purpose. 

Anyway, with that being said, Sister Kwok got to give a talk in sacrament meeting this week! WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!! It actually went pretty smoothly, I cried, but that's nothing new. After the meeting was over, our recent convert came up to me to tell me how much I had progressed in the language from 2 months ago. My mind was blown! 

After that, our district meeting got switched around again and we ended up meeting yesterday. I love our district, they are the greatest bunch of missionaries I know, we have so much fun be we also get so much work done, they are all amazing. We made jokes about who was going to be taken out and who was staying, Elder Hatch and I have both been in the same area for the longest, so we assumed that we are going to be transferred, but you never know! 

​Lappeenranta-Mikkeli-Savonlinna District 

We get our transfer calls this week, and we shall see what the Lord has in store for me! 

Until next week,

Sisar Kwok 

Fwd: Mennemmekö naimisiin?? in other words, "Are we getting married??"

Love hearing from you Emily with your sense of humor! We love you and will continue to pray for your success and safety! Love you, Kathy Winn

Sent from Outlook

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Emily Kwok" <emily.kwok@myldsmail.net>
Date: Tue, Aug 18, 2015 at 2:59 AM -0700
Subject: Mennemmekö naimisiin?? in other words, "Are we getting married??"
To: <breonnaeyler8@ygmail.com>, <emilykwok16.finland@blogger.com>, <tesschiuleung@gmail.com>, <yoyoaah@hotmail.com>, "Ashley HIckman" <ashwills3@gmail.com>, "Carol Ng" <laiecarol@gmail.com>, "Eugenia Xie" <eugeniaxie@gmail.com>, "Hailey Hadley" <hailey@thehadleys.net>, "Helen Kwok" <hkwok27@gmail.com>, "Jacob Baird" <jacob.baird@myldsmail.net>, "Kam Wing Kwok" <kamwingkwok@msn.com>, "Kathy Winn" <winn_kathy@hotmail.com>, "Kayla Cartwright" <klcart510@gmail.com>, "Kaylee Whiteley" <kaylee.whiteley@hotmail.com>, "Kelsie Gajewsky" <kelsie.gajewsky@gmail.com>, "Macy Chilton" <mayz33@msn.com>, "Natalie Wong" <nh.wong@live.com>, "Nicole Tucker" <nicole.tucker@myldsmail.net>, "Randa Mortensen" <rander_22@hotmail.com>, "Samantha Morgan" <sammorgan1206@gmail.com>, "sarah kwok" <sarahkwok888@gmail.com>, "Sarah Warr" <warrsarah@yahoo.com>, "Sarah Whitworth" <whitworths.Sarah@gmail.com>, "Sierra Wise" <sierra.wise@myldsmail.net>, "siu lok" <siulok@msn.com>, "tanya wilkinson" <twilky5@yahoo.com>, "Winnie Kwok" <wykwok106@gmail.com>, "Zoe Woolf" <zoe.woolf@hotmail.com>

Rakat Velijet ja Sisaret,

Mitä kuulu?

This past week has felt like the longest and bestest week of MAH LIFE!!!!!!!!!!

First off, we were at the mission home. Man, food at the mission home is so good, I miss real food that doesn't consist of a bunch of salads and bread all the time. Not that I don't appreciate a good salad and bread...but, yeah.

Anyway.

The Watson's are such an amazing couple, the peace that they have in their home is almost unreal, We were able to learn amazing things such as:

1. How the Sepsis death rate in Utah got lowered from 26% to 6% (the whole time President was telling us this story all I could think was, "that's MY mission president, he's saved so many lives!!!")

2. How the human heart relates to all things spiritual.

3. Tracting is a lost art.

and how basically everything that we do is emphasized by the Spirit 100%

I wish I could write down in words all the things that I learned from those 3 days, but alas, I am but a woman who can't even keep track her daily planner.

After we got back from interim, we were able to have a lesson with a man named M, who sort of dropped off our radar for several weeks but has come back strong, We called him Sunday morning as a last minute prompting, and he ended up coming! SUCH MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!

We walked with him from the city center to our church and every single time we turned a corner he would ask us if we were there yet. Finally, as we got closer I pointed toward the church's general direction and said, " It's just over there." which sadly was in the same direction as the state office building.

M just stares blankly at the building, slowly says, "Wait, you didn't tell me we were getting married." and just busts out laughing, for a good 5 minutes. By himself.

People. You just have to love them.

Other highlights from this week:

1. Picked up a rug for a sick investigator. We totally didn't even think about how big it was going to be, but good thing Sister Hyde is a beast.

​

2.There was a market going on in Mikkeli, so I ended up buying a whole serving of Muikku, which is basically small fishes which are fried whole in butter. Head and tail included. Best day ever! (See the attached photo)

​

3. Said goodbye to our district leader who is leaving to the States to start school, RIP Elder McMaster!

​All in all it's been a good week! I hope to hear from you all soon!

Thanks for sticking with me for so long!

Sisar Kwok

 

 

enjoy

​

Muikku!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mennemmekö naimisiin?? in other words, "Are we getting married??"

Rakat Velijet ja Sisaret,

Mitä kuulu?

This past week has felt like the longest and bestest week of MAH LIFE!!!!!!!!!!

First off, we were at the mission home. Man, food at the mission home is so good, I miss real food that doesn't consist of a bunch of salads and bread all the time. Not that I don't appreciate a good salad and bread...but, yeah.

Anyway.

The Watson's are such an amazing couple, the peace that they have in their home is almost unreal, We were able to learn amazing things such as:

1. How the Sepsis death rate in Utah got lowered from 26% to 6% (the whole time President was telling us this story all I could think was, "that's MY mission president, he's saved so many lives!!!")

2. How the human heart relates to all things spiritual.

3. Tracting is a lost art.

and how basically everything that we do is emphasized by the Spirit 100%

I wish I could write down in words all the things that I learned from those 3 days, but alas, I am but a woman who can't even keep track her daily planner.

After we got back from interim, we were able to have a lesson with a man named M, who sort of dropped off our radar for several weeks but has come back strong, We called him Sunday morning as a last minute prompting, and he ended up coming! SUCH MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!

We walked with him from the city center to our church and every single time we turned a corner he would ask us if we were there yet. Finally, as we got closer I pointed toward the church's general direction and said, " It's just over there." which sadly was in the same direction as the state office building.

M just stares blankly at the building, slowly says, "Wait, you didn't tell me we were getting married." and just busts out laughing, for a good 5 minutes. By himself.

People. You just have to love them.

Other highlights from this week:

1. Picked up a rug for a sick investigator. We totally didn't even think about how big it was going to be, but good thing Sister Hyde is a beast.

​

2.There was a market going on in Mikkeli, so I ended up buying a whole serving of Muikku, which is basically small fishes which are fried whole in butter. Head and tail included. Best day ever! (See the attached photo)

​

3. Said goodbye to our district leader who is leaving to the States to start school, RIP Elder McMaster!

​All in all it's been a good week! I hope to hear from you all soon!

Thanks for sticking with me for so long!

Sisar Kwok